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My Marjoribanks Ancestors

Having only just realised that I’m descended from the Marjoribanks family (see here), I’d thought I’d take a look at this branch of my ancestry. According to the entry on the wiki about the Origins of the Clan, Princess Marjorie was the only daughter of King Robert the Bruce. She married Walter Stewart, High Steward of Scotland, in 1316. She was thus the mother of the first of the royal Stewarts, and received as part of her marriage settlement lands in Renfrewshire which became known as Terre de Marjorie, later Marjoribanks (pronounced ‘Marchbanks’). I’m still not sure how the Robert Marjoribanks of that ilk that I found on the Stirnet.com site is connected, but that’s as far back as I’ve got so far.

There’s a whole load more information on The Marjoribanks Family site and over on Electric Scotlandhere. When I get a chance I try and revisit some of the interesting characters and their homes. In the meantime, I’ve found a Portrait Of Sir John Marjoribanks (1763-1833) being sold. Not sure Sir John is a close enough relative for me to be in the market, but it’s interesting to compare this portrait to the caricature of my ancestor I posted about here.

Portrait Of Sir John Marjoribanks (1763-1833)

Here’s the family tree I’ve managed to put together so far, but would be great to show the link to Robert The Bruce:

Robert Marjoribanks of that ilk

|Thomas Marjoribanks of that ilk and of Ratho
Provost of Edinburgh
(d 1580, Lord of Session as ‘Lord Ratho’)
and Janet Purves

* There’s seems to be some contention about whether the John Marjoribanks of Hallyards’ wife was Catherine Campbell (dau of Ronald Campbell of Kames and Balerno or Katherine Campbell (dau of Ronald Campbell of Balerno). Maybe this riddle will be solved before I look into the Campbell connection.

Anyway, my brief look at My Marjoribanks Ancestors has opened the door to a whole host of other families I can look into, including: the Purves, Sympsons, Trotters, Murrays, Lochs, Campbells, Stewarts and Nisbets.

Enjoyed your site, Justin. Just a question on Marion Sympson … Was she the SISTER of Andrew Sympson?
Check out “PARAGRAPH 4. – Joseph Marjoribanks, of Edinburgh … married Marion, sister, and in her issue co-heir, of Andrew Sympson, merchant burgess of Edinburgh ; she died June, 1621, (testament dative confirmed 3 Jan., 1623,) and had at least three sons and two daughters.https://archive.org/stream/collectaneagene00collgoog/collectaneagene00collgoog_djvu.txt

Sally, thanks for comment. Sadly, I don’t know much about Marjoribanks ancestors. I know a little about Sir John because his granddaughter married a Maitland who was a not so distant cousin of hers. Marjoribanks, Maitlands, and Ramsay families seem closely connected but haven’t really come across Sympson family. Sorry. Justin

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Summary

I originally started this blog back in 2008 as a note/scrapbook to chronicle what I'd was finding out about my family history. It's now become a repository for a random selection of anecdotes, discoveries, encounters, observations, notes, and reflections where my family history provides an excuse to experiment with creative non-fiction writing. You can find out more about me and this blog here.